Sessional_Paper_1948 — Page 11

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DIFFICULTIES OF RECRUITMENT

14. Although wages paid to artisans and unskilled labour by Government and the utility companies and the major commercial employers of labour were regulated by an agreement made during the Military Administration, there was no such agreement as regards clerical workers, technicians, or higher grade employees. As a result the emoluments paid by private concerns were often far in excess of Government rates and resignations from Government service were numerous. Higher salaries payable outside made recruitment for most branches of the public service extremely difficult and such candidates as were forthcoming were often of a far lower standard than before the war.

GENERAL POLICY

15. It was against this background that the Commission commenced its deliberations. But we soon found that the mere revision of salaries was not the greatest of the problems before us. Our terms of reference instructed us to frame our recommendations bearing in mind the policy laid down in White Paper Colonial No. 197 of 1946 relating to the organisation of the Colonial Service. The main principles concerning salary revision set out in that White Paper are as follows:

"(i) The salaries of all posts in the public service of a Colony should be determined according to the nature of the work and the relative responsibilities irrespective of the race or domicile of the individual.

(ii) The salaries should be fixed at rates applicable to locally recruited staff, even though there may, for the time being, be grades in which few or no locally recruited officers are in fact serving. (iii) In fixing these basic salaries regard should be paid to the relevant circumstances, such as the ruling income levels in those classes of the community from which the public service is or will be recruited. (iv) Where the salaries so fixed are insufficient to attract and retain officers from overseas, expatriation pay should be provided for such officers.

(v) The practice of providing free quarters for certain classes of officers

should be discontinued where it exists."

16. We decided at an early stage in our discussions that in view of the policy outlined above we would recommend that in future all salaries and emoluments payable to public officers in Hong Kong should be expressed in Hong Kong currency, and that the existing distinction between sterling and dollar paid officers should be done away with. The salaries recommended in the Schedules to this Report are all expressed in Hong Kong dollars, although the sterling equivalents have been included for purposes of comparison with existing scales. In making our recommendations we have taken the exchange value of the Hong Kong dollar at 1/3d.

17. We are in agreement with the policy set out in White Paper Colonial No. 197 that the post-war salary structure in Hong Kong should be built up on the basis of rates of pay applicable to locally recruited staff and it is with this policy in mind that we have framed our recommendations. We have, wherever possible, designed an avenue of promotion for locally recruited staff up to the highest levels in the public service through grades in which they can obtain the necessary training and experience. At the same time we realise that it will be necessary to retain in the service officers from overseas and to recruit others until such time as facilities for the education and training of local officers are much more complete than they are at present. We have accordingly made provision for expatriation pay for such non-local officers as it will be essential to retain or to recruit in future from abroad.

RESTRICTION OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO MONTHLY PAID STAFF

18. Although paragraph (i) of our terms of reference instructs us "to consider and submit recommendations for the revision of the salaries and emoluments and conditions of service of all public officers in Hong Kong", we have decided to make no recommendations regarding the emoluments of daily paid workers. We consider that the present arrangements which were made during the Military Administration, in consultation with the leading private employers, for the remuneration of daily paid workers-these are set out in Civil Affairs Circular No. 67 of 12th December, 1945-should not be lightly. interfered with and indeed should not be modified except with the concurrence of the interested parties. In recommending that Government should continue